Catching the ferry home

In spring, one of our smallest vessels in the fleet, MV Carvoria, played host to a party of 400 hoggs travelling home to Kerrera, just off the coast of Oban -  following their winter holidays in Aberdeenshire.

Getting the hoggs back home is a bit of a spectator sport – with many watching and filming the event which has taken place for many generations. It’s something we, and indeed our predecessor who operated the route, have always helped with.

Moving hoggs to and from summer grazing is an essential part of the farming calendar – ensuring that the sheep can access richer winter grazing for a period, before coming home for the summer.

And – it has always been a bit of a spectacle as Tim one of the farmers in Kerrera explained: 

“Whenever we do it – people take photos and watch the sheep being run on and off the ferry. I think it should be something that Caledonian MacBrayne is proud of. It also shows how versatile the company can be.”  

Gill, also a farmer on the island said:  

“My father was previously the ferryman on the route – and operated a barge, which would sail alongside the ferry, when the hoggs were transported back then. It’s something that’s gone on for generations and which we will hopefully continue for generations too.”